Migrant crime spike forced Texas Sheriff to collaborate with state

A sheriff in a Texas community along the U.S.-Mexico border who previously refused to work with the state authorities to refer undocumented migrants on state trespassing charges has said rising crime spurred by illegal migration has forced him to change his tune, the Washington Examiner reported.

“The state’s been after me for a few months,” said Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber. "I hesitated for about two months. What kind of pushed me ... really was because there were more things that were happening. I didn't see migrants coming in and just moving on. I saw immigrants get into houses, breaking in, damaging, taking things. I started getting calls from ranchers about all the damage they were doing — calls from neighborhoods close to the city about breaking in, taking things.”

Schmerber's agreement with Austin, the capital of Texas, allows him to turn over those who trespass after they have entered the U.S. from Mexico.

“If somebody goes onto a ranch and they jump the fence, that's going to be a state charge now because of trespassing,” Schmerber said. “If they go into a house, they’re going to have another charge for breaking into private property.”

Although county and state officials cannot charge migrants on federal immigration charges, traffickers, drug smugglers or illegal immigrants who are caught trespassing on private property will now face a state charge of criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor charge

In return for its cooperation, Maverick County will receive $1.6 million to cover additional border security-related costs. Schmerber has said that he plans to spend the money by hiring more deputies and purchasing vehicles and equipment.

Since President Biden took office, illegal immigration has dramatically increased and Texas has been forced to deploy 10,000 state troopers and National Guard troops to the border since March.

In fiscal year 2021, U.S. border authorities reported that more than 259,000 people illegally attempted to cross the border in the Del Rio region, which includes Maverick County. A year earlier, approximately 40,000 people were encountered, according to federal data.